Koreas, UN discuss disarming JSA

General-grade military talks on Oct 26

October 23, 2018 00:00:00

SEOUL, Oct 22 (Xinhua): South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United Nations Command held the second consultation on Monday on disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the inter-Korean border area, Seoul's defense ministry said.

The closed-door consultation started at 10 am local time (0100 GMT) in the Freedom House, a building controlled by South Korea in the border village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

The first one was held on Oct 16.

The consultation was made to discuss the disarmament of the JSA, which was agreed upon by defense chiefs of the two Koreas during the Pyongyang summit in September between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

Soldiers from the two Koreas conducted a 20-day operation to remove landmines inside the JSA from Oct 01. The JSA was set up right after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice.

The two Koreas planned to withdraw troops, firearms and guard posts from the JSA.

After the disarmament, South Korea and the DPRK would station a patrol of 35 soldiers each, including five officers, with no weapon inside the JSA.

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to hold general-grade military talks later this week at the border village of Panmunjom, Seoul's defense ministry said on Monday.

The general-level dialogue would start at 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Oct 26 at Tongilgak, a DPRK building in Panmunjom, the ministry said in a statement.

The five-member military delegations from the two sides will discuss the implementation of the inter-Korean military agre ement, which was signed by defense chiefs of the two Koreas during the Pyongyang summit in September between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

They will also discuss ways to form a joint military committee, which would consult on military affairs between the two Koreas.

Under the military agreement in Pyongyang, the two sides agreed to stop all hostile acts in border areas by setting up a buffer zone along the heavily-armed inter-Korean border.

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